Baby

It's a scary thought. A pediatrician with a child porn obsession. This is the person you run to when your child is sick. This is the person who is supposed to make your child well and give you peace of mind.

What happens when you realize that person may be a monster? That is no doubt what a bunch of Connecticut families are feeling after learning that their pediatrician, Todd Parilla, has admitted to owning over 100,000 child porn photos and videos.

He was caught in August 2011 when cops raided his home and found the sick stash, which included 10,000 videos of children and teens. "I downloaded and used a file-share program to receive images," he admitted in court after pleading guilty Monday, according to Connecticut paper The Day. "I exchanged images with the same program."

Frightening, no? In this day and age, we can't blindly trust anyone with our kids anymore. That said, no patients have brought charges against Parilla, but the thought that the person taking care of your kid has that type of fetish is beyond unsettling. While I'm sure that most, if not nearly all, pediatricians are wonderful, caring, law-abiding people, parents should do their research when it comes to picking out a doc.

Here are the four things every new mom and dad need to do to check out a prospective pediatrician.

1. Look for parent reviews on local parenting message boards. This is an invaluable resource. It's a sounding board where people can vent about their experiences and offer recommendations. If you have a question about a particular doctor, ask the group if anyone has gone to him/her and about their experiences. You can even ask to take the conversation to a private email exchange if you prefer.
2. Get a criminal background check. It will cost you less than $20 with many online companies like USSearch.com. You can also use free searches like InstantCheckmate.com or BeenVerified.com.
3. There is no Better Business Bureau for doctors, but there are sites where they are rated by patients. Do a search on HealthGrades.com and RateMDs.com.
4. Go to the American Board of Pediatrics website to verify that the doctor is a certified pediatrician.

Just as important? Your intuition and instincts. Nothing will provide 100 percent guarantee but with all of these tools, you can rest easy knowing that you've done everything you can to pick the right doctor for your kids.

Do you think it's necessary to check out the doctors servicing your kids?

Image via LisaW123/Flickr